They call it the Green Mountain State. But really, Vermont could be the Cheese State, if it wanted to fight with Wisconsin.

Today there’s more cheese made in Vermont than any other state in the union. And those cheese makers live in some pretty special places.

Tonight, we crisscross the state in search of the good stuff, from the Massachusetts border to the Northeast Kingdom.

Vermont Cheese Trailwww.vtcheese.comIn the last decade, the number of cheese makers in Vermont has more than tripled. There are more here per capita than any other state. Today these green mountains synonymous with Holsteins and maple syrup, boast a bounty of curds. Cheese made of milk from cows, goats and sheep on farms both old and new.

“Around the world sheep are milked a lot more than cows and goats but here in the United States cows have always been the big milk producers and most people buying our product have had that experience they’re looking for goats milk products and sheep milk products because they’ve seen that on their travels.”

Crowley Cheese14 Crowley LaneHealdville, VT 05758802-259-2340www.crowleycheese.comCrowley cheese is a point of pride in the tiny hamlet of Healdville, the oldest continuously operating cheese factory in the country. Little has changed, not recipe nor method, since Winfield Crowley started making cheese in his farm house kitchen in 1824.

Consider Bardwell Farm1333 Vermont Route 153West Pawlet, VT 05775802-645-9928www.considerbardwellfarm.comConsider Bardwell Farm is a premier cheesemaker; its prize-winning hand made cow and goat’s milk cheeses found in gourmet shops and high-end restaurants.Goats are new to this land but cheesemaking is not. In the 1860’s then owner Consider Stebbins Bardwell started Vermont’s first cheesemaking co-op.“The milk from 150 or more farms came to this facility to be processed into cheddar and Colby cheeses and those were hooked on to an old railroad line that goes out through the property here and down to Albany and points west and south.”

Twig Farm802-462-3363www.twigfarm.comMichael Lee was working at South End Formaggio, living in Jamaica Plain when he told his wife Emily he wanted to become a farmer. So they picked up and moved to West Cornwall and built a farm, Twig Farm. They built a house, a barn, bought some goats and started making cheese. Since 2005, Michael’s cheeses…Butterwick and Fuzzy Wheel, Washed Rind, Square and Old Goat have won awards and caught the attention of cheesemongers and other would be cheesemakers.“I had a piece of cheese of Michael’s from a cheese shop in Brooklyn and knew immediately that if I wanted to learn to make cheese this was the place that I wanted to come.”

Von Trapp FarmsteadWaitsfield, VT802-496-6100Sebastian@vonTrappFarmstead.comIn Vermont the name von Trapp is most often associated with Stowe. But here in Waitsfield 3 generations of the famous family have called a150-acre dairy farm home. As with other dairies, the farm’s future was in doubt until Dan and Sebastian von Trapp decided it was time to come home. “We decided what can we do to come back and revitalize and make things work so we can keep this farm running and we can raise families here as well and cheese making was the perfect thing.They named their buttery washed rind raw milk cheese “Oma,” after their grandmother, Erika von Trapp who, along with her husband Werner, bought the farm in 1959.

Jasper Hill FarmGreensboro, VT802-533-2566www.jasperhillfarm.comMateo and Andy Kehler bought a broken down farm in Greensboro, Vermont, built a cheese house and after a few years of making cheese had a bold idea. They carved out 22,000 square feet of underground vaults to age their cheese and that of small producers. “The Cellars is a mechanism that lowers the barriers to entry so that more people can make cheese. It’s inspired by the cheese tradition in France where affineurs or finishers are buying cheeses from cheese makers, finishing them and marketing them.”

Hunger Mountain Coop623 Stone Cutters WayMontpelier, VT 05602802-223-8000www.hungermountain.coopSay “cheese” at hunger mountain co-op in Montpelier and your wish is their command. “We sell about a million dollars worth of cheese a year out of our cheese case and a third of that if not more is Vermont products.”

www.farmsforcitykids.orgwww.sbfcheese.comJust south of Woodstock in Reading is a unique Vermont farm. The 1000 hilltop acres, jersey herd and state of the art cheesemaking facility exist for one reason.“It was founded by Jim and Karli Hagadorn who had a vision of bringing children up to a rural setting to learn all about producing food.”Farms for City Kids was started in 1992 as a non-profit foundation. In 2008 the farm added cheesemaking to help fund the education program. Their alpine style Tarentaise, and Reading Raclette have already earned high praise in the cheese world.

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